[maverickxx2006]

Originally Posted by suniladhiya

Did Pune-Belgaum-Goa yesterday via the Chorla Route. As mentioned in one of the posts on this thread, the section from Belgaum to Chorla is absolutely amazing to drive on. Once you enter Goa, the road is bad for about 10-12 kms and average for the next 10-12 kms. After that its good again. Saw signs of repair work in the bad sections and the guy at the Goa entry tax booth told me it should be done up within the next month or two. Will definitely use the same route for getting back to Pune. Total distance Belgaum to Panaji via Chorla is 115 kms.

Good to see the latest updates. I'm travelling to Goa-Varca beach this Saturday and I plan to take the Belgaum - Chorla route.

When you say the road is "bad" for 10-12 kms..will it be safe to go over this road for vehicles with less ground clearance (read - Punto)?

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by maverickxx2006

Good to see the latest updates. I'm travelling to Goa-Varca beach this Saturday and I plan to take the Belgaum - Chorla route.

When you say the road is "bad" for 10-12 kms..will it be safe to go over this road for vehicles with less ground clearance (read - Punto)?

Yes, absolutely! Just need to be careful at 4-5 places where the pot holes are slightly larger and getting in-out of them would be tricky if you are not careful. But slow speeds (around 30-40kmph) should be good without any issues! If you are a patient driver, nothing to worry

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by maverickxx2006

Good to see the latest updates. I'm travelling to Goa-Varca beach this Saturday and I plan to take the Belgaum - Chorla route.

When you say the road is "bad" for 10-12 kms..will it be safe to go over this road for vehicles with less ground clearance (read - Punto)?

I dont think you should have any issues - I drove in a Wagon R and had to keep the speeds down but no issue of scraping the bottom etc. Definitely better than the Amboli or NH4A options.

[abirnale]

Quick note - yesterday/ today there was a rasta roko somewhere between kolhapur and belgaum (I think bagewadi). It didn't last long as law enforcement authorities intervened. I guess, It's going to continue until the sugar cane pricing issue is resolved. Nothing much to worry as of now but one must budget few additional hours for contingencies if delay occurs. Anyone knows more about this incidence here on the forum? Attaching a snap from local newspaper. Sorry it's in Marathi.

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by suniladhiya

Did Pune-Belgaum-Goa yesterday via the Chorla Route. As mentioned in one of the posts on this thread, the section from Belgaum to Chorla is absolutely amazing to drive on. Once you enter Goa, the road is bad for about 10-12 kms and average for the next 10-12 kms. After that its good again. Saw signs of repair work in the bad sections and the guy at the Goa entry tax booth told me it should be done up within the next month or two. Will definitely use the same route for getting back to Pune. Total distance Belgaum to Panaji via Chorla is 115 kms.

Thanks Sunil!

Originally Posted by maverickxx2006

Good to see the latest updates. I'm travelling to Goa-Varca beach this Saturday and I plan to take the Belgaum - Chorla route.

When you say the road is "bad" for 10-12 kms..will it be safe to go over this road for vehicles with less ground clearance (read - Punto)?

I am travelling over the weekend too from Pune to South Goa (Varca) as well. Hope to see your ride on the way. I will be driving the Xylo so not too worried about the bad stretches...

[vikramv1]

On my recent trip to Goa last week, I used both routes. My analysis is as follows:

Mumbai-Pune - No complaints
Pune-Satara - very expensive road to drive. road quality is very strictly ok
Satara-Kolhapur-Nipani- Butter smooth roads
Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi: Nipani to Ajra via Uttur is ok, drivable at 40-50kmph. Ajra to Amboli is a nightmare of a road. Can never drive above 20-30kmph. Top of Amboli ghat descending to sawantwadi is ok as well. Not too much to complain about. NH 17 is butter smooth

On the return, we decided to take the Chorla Ghat -Belgaum route. The route till Sanquelim is fine. The 15 km stretch from there till the top of the ghat at Chorla (Goa roads) are in ok condition. There are repairs underway however. The karnataka side of the roads are pure heaven. Probably the best hill road i have ever driven. NH4 from belgaum till Kolhapur is awesome. The rest is the same as my onward journey.

I would very strongly recommend everyone to skip the Amboli route and take the Chorla Route

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vikramv1

Probably the best hill road i have ever driven. NH4 from belgaum till Kolhapur is awesome. The rest is the same as my onward journey.

+1. At the risk of sounding repetitive, the whole of 4-lane from Belgaum throught to Kolhapur via Sankeshwar/Nippani gives you one best driving pleasure. Awesome road and equally awesome views. Last I drove with family. Hence did not stop much on this stretch. Else the greenery on this stretch and the bridge of Ghatprabha river, gives amazing snapping opportunities!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by vikramv1

I would very strongly recommend everyone to skip the Amboli route and take the Chorla Route

I am planning to do Belgaum - Goa trip next month. How safe is the Belgaum -Chorla route for a couple travelling with a baby on board?

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I am planning to do Belgaum - Goa trip next month. How safe is the Belgaum -Chorla route for a couple travelling with a baby on board?

Absolutely safe - but because we know this was not the case earlier, I would still suggest day-time travel in this area. Say morning 6am onwards unto 6pm or before your headlights come out. You can actually take some stops en-route and enjoy the scenes as well during day time!

[vikramv1]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I am planning to do Belgaum - Goa trip next month. How safe is the Belgaum -Chorla route for a couple travelling with a baby on board?

Very easily doable. I also did the stretch with baby on board. Roads are awesome. You will be in goa within three hours . Lovely ride

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by vikramv1

On the return, we decided to take the Chorla Ghat -Belgaum route. The route till Sanquelim is fine. The 15 km stretch from there till the top of the ghat at Chorla (Goa roads) are in ok condition. There are repairs underway however. The karnataka side of the roads are pure heaven. Probably the best hill road i have ever driven. NH4 from belgaum till Kolhapur is awesome. The rest is the same as my onward journey.

I would very strongly recommend everyone to skip the Amboli route and take the Chorla Route

+1 to this. this is the best route to get to South Goa. I especially liked the ghat stretch with nicely paved road and markings.

Additionally, with mining operations stopped, traffic is quite sparse.

My route to Goa was via Belgaum -> Khanapur -> (via connector avoiding Ramnagar) -> Molem which is quite bad condition and should be avoided. I was in the Xylo so it was not a problem, but smaller cars will have a bad time.

[maverickxx2006]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I am planning to do Belgaum - Goa trip next month. How safe is the Belgaum -Chorla route for a couple travelling with a baby on board?

Absolutely no problem. The roads are amazing. Just make sure that you packup food items in Belgaum.

I just returned to Pune y'day from Goa trip. Took the Belgaum>Jamboti>Kankumbi>Chorla>Sanquelim>Ponda>Ma rgao route. Amazing drive.
It took me 4 hours to reach from Belgaum to Varca beach.

Just 10-12 kms are bad.

I also had my baby daughter on-board. We had packed our lunch and then halted in chorla ghat for lunch. It was awesome experience.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by maverickxx2006

Absolutely no problem. The roads are amazing. Just make sure that you packup food items in Belgaum.

I just returned to Pune y'day from Goa trip. Took the Belgaum>Jamboti>Kankumbi>Chorla>Sanquelim>Ponda>Ma rgao route. Amazing drive.
It took me 4 hours to reach from Belgaum to Varca beach.

Just 10-12 kms are bad.

I also had my baby daughter on-board. We had packed our lunch and then halted in chorla ghat for lunch. It was awesome experience.

That's good to know. I had travelled from Belgaum to Bichloim few years back by Kadamba bus via Chorla ghat. Chorla route was the shortest route, but the road conditions were just horrible. It was like offroading in a bus. Even KSRTC did not run any buses through that route at the time. At the time even Anmod route was bad and cars used to go via Amboli and Sawantwadi. Very few chose the CHorla route. As result roads used to be very desolate. Nowadays I hear its the best route to Goa from Belgaum

[Dieseltuned]

Just back from a trip to Kolhapur from Bombay. Below are my notings from Saturday (16/11/2013)::

1. Bombay - Pune :: Express highway :: Absolute pleasure. Traffic on the ghats is a bit worrisome. Truckers do not maintain the left lane forcing the other cars/buses to switch lanes.

2. Pune - Satara :: NH4 condition has detiorated to say the least. Too many patch works and potholes every few hundred meters. There are too many diversions with minimal signages. Night driving may be a hazard here.

3. Satara - Kolhapur :: Smooth roads especially around Karad to Kolhapur.

[udiboy]

Hi All,

I am planning to drive to Morjim, North Goa on the night of 22nd November. Kindly suggest which road should I take? I plan to stay on NH4 till dawn, so will leave Mumbai by midnight. Looking at the recent replies on this thread, it is amply clear that most of the fellow bhpians are suggesting to take the route via Chorla, but I guess this route is a clear choice if one is going to South Goa (I might be completely wrong here and need to be educated).

On google maps, the place (marabelo beach resorts, morjim) is 40 kms from sawantwadi. My question then is should I still go till Belgaum and enter via Chorla or is crossing Amboli Ghat not such a problem after all?